Reactionary Religious Impulse

Satanism is part of a religious impulse struggling with Christianity to overthrow its deceptive folkloric subversion ideologies by force, using the propagandistic language of its promotion in ways that seem or become religious and spiritual props for the betterment of ourselves and those whom we like. This strips the delusion and lies away from the faithful or at least away from the projections which they promote, by displacement and blatant legitimation.

Previous engagements of this kind were waged by religious "witches" (religious "satanists" being the major followup, after about 15 years). There have been no other heresy-based incursions of this type, but successive generations launched into horror fiction/folklore for their followup (religious "vampires", and then religious "werewolves"). I am seeing signs of a more recent development whereby people style and come to understand themselves as religious "demons". Sometimes they are claiming to have done this for years. This all seems to be out of the same general movements, and academics seem to be referring to it as 'self-religion' (incorporating New Age, Thelemic, and Neopagan components).

There appear to be several "phases" of these various factions. The initial phase is a pretty blatant in its 'in your face here we are, claiming to be representatives of your worst nightmares' kind of style, sometimes doing things up theatrically and possibly fabricating a 'Charter Myth' (fabricated tale of origins), often of ancient pedigree. Many of the later generations tend to downplay the theatricality and believe these tales of ancientness and those used by Christians to scare and target their competition. They then begin to complain that they are in such a poor position as victims to the dominant Christian religion (within some Charter Myths, casting themselves as actual documented individuals, possibly exascerbated as within 'The Burning Times' promoted by Gardner and subsequent Wiccans).